Discharge conveyer for loading machines



Oct. 14, 1941.

G. BAECHLI DISCHARGE CONVEYER FOR LOADING MACHINES Filed June 4, 1940 mwzzvroze.

GEORGE BAECHLI.

BY mwa ATTORNEYS;

s I ATENT OFFICE DISCHARGE CONVEYER FOR LOADING MACHINES George Baechli, Franklin, Pa., assignor to Joy Manufacturing Company, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application June 4, 1940, Serial No.'338,'771

2 Claims. (Cl. 19812 1) UNITED This invention relates to mobile loading mafacture and install on the machine, and which chine of the type adapted to load coal in underpermits of more universal use of the loader. ground coal mines into cars or other haulage These and other objects which will hereinafter units for transportation from the coal producing be made apparent to those skilled in this pararea of the mine to the coal preparation plant, ticular art, are accomplished by means of this and particularly to improvements in the disinvention, one embodiment of which is described charge conveyer for such loading machines in the following specification and illustrated in whereby the loader may be readily adapted to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

operate in coal seams of varying thickness and Fig. 1 is a plan view of a mobile loading maload coal into transporting devices, such as mine chine provided with a sectional discharge concars, over which the conveyer of the loading veyer made in accordance with my invention,

machine must extend in order to load the same, and mounted for lateral swinging movement relof varying height and capacity. ative to the body of the loading machine;

It is customary in coal mining operation since, Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the loading at best, the working conditions are extremely machine shown in Fig, 1; limited, to employ mine cars and the like to Fig. 3 is an enlarged View in elevation of a transport the coal from the producing area of portion of the discharge conveyer showing the the mine to the coal preparation plant at the means for varying the height of the discharge surface, having the greatest load carrying capacend thereof; 7 i ity which it is possible to employ in the height of I Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on coal seam being worked, and to secure such cathe line IVIV of Fig. 3 showing the means for pacity the mine car is usually of as great a height varying th elevation of the discharge end of the as will permit it to pass readily when fully conveyer; and

loaded under the roof and roof supporting beams Fi 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on of the mine chamber. That is to say, mine cars line V--V of Fig. 1.

are not built to any standard dimensions but for Referring to the drawing in detail it represents the most part are made specially for meeting a mobile loading machine mounted to travel conditions in each individual mine, and prior throughout the various mine chambers on selfto my invention, it was necessary to make a spelaying track H of the endless chain type. At

cial discharge conveyer section for substantially the forward-end of the loading machine, a loadea ch loading machine to permit the machine to ing or gathering head 12 is pivoted, at l3, for

be worked in a mine with the existng equipment, swinging movement in a vertical plane which thus materially increasing the cost of the loading has gathering arms l4 thereon for gathering the machine to the operator. 4 coal from the mine floor and delivering the The principal object of this invention is topros s-same into a conveyer pan l5 forming a part of vide a mobile loading machine for use in underthe gathering head l2. Also pivoted at l3 for ground coal mines having a laterally swinging vertical swinging movement is a conveyer pan discharge conveyer adapted to be positioned over I9 registering with the conveyer pan l5 on the a mine car during loading which is capable of gathering head l2 which terminates at its rear being readily adjusted to permit mine cars of 4.0:end in a fan section 20 of pro-determined radius. varying height to be employed behind the loader Abutting against the fan section 20 of the conand loaded thereby. v veyer pan I9 is a sectional discharge conveyer Another object of this invention is to provide 2-! which is pivoted to the conveyer pan IQ for a mobile loading machine having a laterally lateral swinging movement in the manner set swinging discharge conveyer adapted to be posiforth and disclosed in Arentzen Patent #1,785,402.

tioned over a mine car, or other haulage unit, The sectional discharge conveyer 2| is swung in which the laterally swinging section of the laterally by means of hydraulically operated conveyer is articulated for movement in a verdouble acting jacks 22-22 mounted on the sides tical plane whereby the height of the discharge of the discharge conveyer in cooperation with end of the conveyer may be readily varied to cables 23-23 having one end attached to the meet the height requirement encountered in difjacks 22. Each cable 23 passes around a pulley ferent coal mines. sheave 24 mounted on the end of the piston A further object is to provide a sectional disrod of the jack 22 and then around a sheave charge conveyer for a mobile loading machine 25 and has its opposite end attached to the edge which i sturdy of construction, easy to manuof the fan section 20 of the conveyer pan l9.

The admission of fluid to the jacks is controlled by a suitable valve arranged, when operated, to deliver fluid to the jacks so that one will be expanded and the other contracted, and thus swing the conveyer 2| laterally.

Coal delivered into the conveyer pan I5 is conveyed rearwardly of the machine end by flights IS on an endless chain I1 of universal construction which passes, at the front end of the loader, around a drive shaft I8 journaled in the gathering head l2 and at its rear end around an idler shaft [to mounted in the side walls of the discharge conveyer 2|.

The means for swinging the gathering head [2 and conveyer pan [9 in vertical planes and the means for driving the gathering arms [4 and operating the conveyer chain I! are old and well known in the art and form no part of the present invention. 7

In order to make the use of the loading machine more universal, and to permit it to load mine cars of varying height, the discharge conveyer 2! is made up of two sections pivoted together so that the outer section may be raised and lowered relative to the inner section, to vary the height of the discharge end of the conveyer. The forward or front section 2|a of the discharge conveyor 2| which is relatively short in length and terminates at a point substantially midway between the forward and rear end of the hydraulic jacks 22 comprises a lower or bottom deck 21, an upper or top deck 28 Which is vertically spaced above the bottom deck and side walls 29 to which the bottom and top decks are united. The rear section 2 lb of the discharge conveyer 21 is likewise of two deck construction and has a lower deck 30 which is hinged at 3| to the lower deck 21 of the front section 2m, an upper deck 32 having its forward end curved downwardly as at 33 to extend underneath the upper deck 28 of the forward section 2la, and side walls 34 to which the sides of the decks 30-32 are attached. The side walls 34 at their forward ends abut against the rear ends of the side walls 29 on the front section 2la of the discharge conveyer pan.

To raise and lower the discharge end of the rear section of the discharge conveyer pan and vary the angle at which said conveyer extends rearwardly from the machine, a bolt 35 having right and left hand threads on its opposite end, and a wrench flat 36 in the center thereof, is threaded into nuts 31 and 38 journ'aled in brackets 39-40 secured to the side walls 29-34 respectively and in the side walls of the discharge conveyer sections 2| ct-2lb. From this construction it is apparent that by turning the bolt 35 on each side of the discharge conveyer 2f, the rear section 2lb thereof can be readily turned about the hinge pin 3| and the height thereof readily varied without varying the height of the front section 2la of the discharge conveyer, and

that since the forward end 33 of the top deck plate 32 of the rear section MD is curved downwardly, a continuous floor surface is always maintained between the two sections of discharge conveyer 2| over which coal and other material may be readily conveyed.

It is also apparent that since the forward section 2| a of the discharge conveyer 2| terminates substantially intermediate of the hydraulic jacks 22, and since the jacks are located below the brackets 39-40 the sheaves 24-25 will always be protected by the side walls 29-34 of the front and rear sections of the conveyer regardless of the elevation of the rear section Zlb since the position of the sheave 25 is fixed with relation to the side wall 29, and the bolt 36 is of such length that lowering of the rear section to such an extent that sheave 24 would extend above the side wall 34 is prevented.

While I have described one embodiment of my invention, it is apparent that certain changes, modifications, substitutions, omissions, and additions may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A discharge conveyer for a mobile loading machine, comprising a front section having an upper deck and a lower deck, a rear section having a lower deck hinged to the lower deck of the front section and an upper deck provided with a downwardly curved forward edge adapted to extend underneath the upper deck of said front section, and means for varying the elevation of said rear section relative to the front section including opposed brackets secured to the front and rear sections of said conveyer on each side thereof, a nut journaled in each of said brackets, and a bolt having right and left hand threads on its opposite ends threaded into the opposed nuts on each side of said conveyer, whereby turning of the bolt in one direction will lower said rear section and turning in the opposite direction will elevate said rear section.

2. A discharge conveyer for a mobile loading machine, comprising a front section having an upper deck and a lower deck, a rear section having a lower deck hinged to the lower deck of the front section, and an upper'deck provided with a downwardly curved forward edge adapted to extend beneath the rear edge of the upper deck of said front section, and means for varying the elevation of said rear section relative to said front section including opposed brackets secured to the side walls of the front and rear sections of said conveyer on each side thereof, a nut having trunnions thereon journaled in each of said brackets, and the side wall to which said bracket is attached, and a bolt having right and left hand threads on its opposite ends threaded into their opposed nuts on each side of said conveyer, whereby turning of the bolt in one direction will lower said rear section and turning in the opposite direction will elevate said rear section.

GEORGE BAECHLI. 

